Beyonce and JAY-Z Prompt South Carolina Schools to Close Early for Their ‘OTRII’ Tour

Students in six Columbia, South Carolina schools are probably thanking Beyoncé and JAY-Z right now. School officials announced a half-day closing on Aug. 21 due to anticipated high traffic for the On The Run II concert.

Officials with the Richland 1 School District say they're worried about school buses being caught in heavy traffic due to the show if the schools are dismissed at their regular time. The OTRII tour is being held at the University of South Carolina’s 80,000-seat football stadium on Aug. 21. No other schools in Richland 1 district will close for a half-day—they'll dismiss at their regular time.

The North American leg of the tour kicked off in Cleveland on July 25 and will wrap on Oct. 4 in Seattle. Already, the tour has been eventful. While they were across the pond touring Europe earlier this summer, they released their acclaimed joint album, Everything Is Love, featuring the lead single, "Ape Shit" which was filmed in the Louvre in Paris.

Earlier this week, Bey made headlines again when her gorgeous Vogue cover was revealed, featuring her looking natural and at peace, as she expounded on motherhood, being a black woman and her issues with body image.

"There are many shades on every journey," she said in the interview. "Nothing is black or white. I’ve been through hell and back, and I’m grateful for every scar. I have experienced betrayals and heartbreaks in many forms. I have had disappointments in business partnerships as well as personal ones, and they all left me feeling neglected, lost, and vulnerable. Through it all I have learned to laugh and cry and grow. I look at the woman I was in my 20s and I see a young lady growing into confidence but intent on pleasing everyone around her. I now feel so much more beautiful, so much sexier, so much more interesting. And so much more powerful."